Episode · Interesting Times · 2025-07-17
Books mentioned on Is Toxic Empathy Poisoning the Left? | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat
Allie Beth Stuckey , conservative Christian podcaster, joins Ross on “Interesting Times” this week to explain why “toxic empathy” has a stranglehold on politics, whether evangelical Christians have a red line President Trump could cross and why her commentary has echoes of Phyllis Schlafly.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Against Empathy
Against Empathy by Paul Bloom is a provocative psychology book that argues emotional empathy can often lead to irrational decisions, tribalism, and moral bias, advocating instead for a more reasoned and compassionate approach to altruism.
Discussed“I heard Abigail Shrier first say this, and I think she might have even gotten this from Paul Bloom, which is a Yale psychologist who wrote a book called against empathy.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Own book Toxic Empathy
“So you wrote a book entitled toxic empathy how progressives exploit Christian compassion.”